Biography

Professor Pali Hungin is the outgoing Dean of Medicine. A medical doctor, he is also Professor of Primary Care and General Practice and the Director of the Centre for Integrated Healthcare Research within the School.

Professor Hungin has experience of clinical practice and research in primary and secondary care, particularly in family medicine, gastroenterology and cardiovascular disease. His research interests include epidemiology, the earlier detection of disease and the evidence-based management of long-term disorders, including therapeutics.

His publications cover the use of early disease markers, investigative services, the prevalence and patterns of gastrointestinal disorders and the barriers to the implementing effective care. His MD thesis was on endoscopy for upper gastrointestinal problems. He has made key contributions to our awareness of the prevalences of inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome internationally, the management of reflux disease and, specifically, the role of Helicobacter pylori infection in patients with gastro-oesophageal reflux disease.

Professor Hungin’s research team has experience in qualitative and quantitative methodologies, bringing interdisciplinary perspectives and skills to health problems against a backdrop of socioeconomic inequalities and deprivation. The team’s recent efforts have concentrated on cardiovascular problems, including the early detection and effective management of heart failure in elderly care settings.

Having graduated in medicine from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Professor Hungin undertook vocational training in general practice NE England. He was based at the Eaglescliffe Medical Practice in Stockton on Tees for over 20 years and remains in active clinical practice. He completed his MD in 1995 and also worked for 10 years as a hospital practitioner in gastrointestinal endoscopy at the James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough. He was appointed Professor at Durham University in 1996 and became Dean of Medicine in 2003.

Professor Hungin is a founding member of the UK and European Primary Care Societies for Gastroenterology and was the founding Chair of the Northern Primary Care Research Network, a forerunner of the research networking movement in the UK. He was Chair of the NHS R&D forum (England), is presently a member of the Independent Scientific Advisory Committee (ISAC) of the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA), and external adviser to the Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA). He also serves as Vice Chair of the University’s Ethics Advisory Committee and is a postgraduate external examiner to several European and Asian universities.

Pali has a long association with the Royal College of General Practitioners, having held a research fellowship and has served on the College’s research group and is currently on the academic advisory board.

Professor Hungin’s contributions have been recognised through several national and international awards. He has published over 100 papers in the peer-reviewed press and has edited or contributed to 11 monographs and books.

Pali’s personal interests include music and reading and he sails and participates in motor sport.

1997: The John Fry Research Medal: Royal College of General Practitioners

1996: The Jones Research Medal: Northern Research Network

Selected Publications

Books: sections

Quigley, E., Bergmann, J.F. Fried, M. & Hungin, A.P.S. et al. (2006). An evidence based approach to the management of IBS with constipation in the European Union. In World Gastroenterology Organisation.